Werder Bremen 1 Aberdeen 0: Lapse in concentration is costly but outing was still rewarding

Thursday 26 July 2012

ABERDEEN slipped to a narrow, but respectable, defeat in Germany last night against Bundesliga side Werder Bremen.

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The Pittodrie side matched the illustrious Germans for large spells, but were outdone only by a Stephen Hughes error when he was short with a passback. It will surely give Aberdeen much encouragement for the season's opener at Parkhead against Celtic.

Craig Brown believes there are likely to be similarities between the games. "I would think it will be a similar game at Parkhead next week," said the Aberdeen manager. "Werder Bremen are a very strong side, their movement was fantastic and we could learn a lot by watching the tape of them."We coped fairly well apart from one slip in concentration which cost us the game. I was speaking to their manager and he has had €7m to spend this summer on his team and he had eight internationals in his line-up. So I have got to be pleased. "We gave them a little bit too much respect at first but soon realised they are only human. I said to our more experienced guys they were a bit negative and to be more positive, and they did that in the second half."Aberdeen were not cowed in the early stages, though. Jonny Hayes was in a precocious mood when he tried an ambitious 40-yard effort which slipped wide of the target, after goalkeeper Sebastian Mielitz wandered out of position. The summer signing from Inverness Caledonian Thistle came even closer after 12 minutes when he whipped in another long-range shot which flew narrowly wide of the target.However, the Germans took control after that and Nils Petersen hit the crossbar with a diving header midway through the first half. It may have been so surprise when Werder took a 24th minute lead, but the manner in which they were gifted the goal was disappointing. Hughes was short with a pass to Jason Brown and Dutch internationalist Eljero Elia easily slipped the ball past the Aberdeen goalkeeper. Another new signing, Niall McGinn, came close to an equaliser when he sent a free-kick just wide. It was not to be but a promising performance was recognised by striker Scott Vernon."This is definitely a stronger squad than last season," he said. "The new additions are really going to help us so hopefully they can do the job."

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Werder Bremen 1 Aberdeen 0: Lapse in concentration is costly but outing was still rewarding

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